Archive for the ‘Scholarship’ Category

As the cost of college education keeps rising, students have had to be seeking various ways of sourcing funding for their online college education. One of the best-kept secrets is that there are loads of scholarships available for online students. The knowledge of online scholarships is always shrouded in the idea that because the format of education is in a virtual environment, no one would be crazy enough to put up funds to educate someone they cannot see.

However, after receiving full accreditation status for their online degree programs, students of online colleges can now access the same level of scholarships that are offered to students attending traditional institutions. These scholarships for online students are funded by the government, private companies, social clubs, various interest groups and even the university itself.

Ways of gaining Online Scholarships

Scholarships for online education come in various forms. These include:

• Organizational Scholarships: As organizations warm up to the idea of online education, many are now offering thousands of scholarships to online students each year. Students just have to research properly as statistics show that many of these company scholarships go unclaimed each tear. Companies offer scholarships for various reasons. Some do so out of an obligation to give back to the community in which they are located. Others do so out of special interests that will benefit their organization in the future.
• Government Scholarships: Students can also get online scholarships through various government-funded programs. These mainly target students with dire financial needs or are academically talented and may come in the form of part or full scholarships.
• School sponsored Scholarships: Some of the more established online colleges also offer scholarships to online students. Online scholarships from these institutions are offered based on the student’s academic achievement and their potential for success. Scholarships offered to online students from their college usually cover the cost of tuition and books and come in the form of bot partial and full scholarships. Each school will have a different policy.Students must contact the financial department of their college to find out the details of their scholarship program.
• Scholarship Contests: Another easy way of getting a scholarship for your online education is by participating in one of the many scholarship contests that are put on by various special interest clubs and companies each year. These scholarships usually fall within the marketing budget of the organization and usually require the recipient to play some active role in their promotion program. The criteria for each scholarship will depend on the sponsor. For example, a newspaper will offer a around $10,000 scholarship based on an essay writing competition.

To qualify, students are required to have an average GPA of at least 2.5 and must be accepted or a full time student of an online college. However before you launch out on a scholarship contest spree, students should ensure that the organization is legitimate by checking their phone numbers, website or company registration. This will protect you from the many scholarship frauds that are also out there.

Statistics show that more and more students are opting for online education. This is because of the many benefits that can be derived from this form of education. During the preparation process, student must be proactive and secure a means of funding their online college education. Not all students are fortunate enough to have family members who are willing to foot their tertiary education bill and hence must resort to seeking financial aid.

Although online education provides an easier and affordable form of education that offers degrees with the same accreditation as campus universities, many students still wonder if the financial aid allotted to campus universities are extended to online universities. As a result, career planners are bombarded with questions about this issue yearly.

Financial Aid is Available

Fortunately, legislators within the education ministry have woken up and realized that online education is here to stay. As a result, they have set various standards that online educators must maintain and for their effort, they are afforded accreditation by the Department of Education.
Once your online college has attained accreditation, then students of the institution will qualify for financial aid. Students can easily check on the status of their college by visiting the website of the Department of Education.

Types of Financial Aid Available to Online Students

All the financial aid that is extended to campus-educated students is also available for online students. This financial aid encompasses all types of monetary assistance or funding that are offered to students to help fund their college education. There are several types of financial aid programs for online students, each of which is awarded on their own merit. Some of these programs include:

• Grants: Grants are money given to students as a gift. Students are not required to pay back the money received through grant programs. All online students are required to do is to maintain a minimum GPA between 2.0 and 3.0. However, not all students will qualify for grants. Grants are awarded on a case-by-case basis and depend on the severity of the student’s financial need. To find out more about the student grants program, you can log onto www.fafsa.ed.gov.
• Loans: Students can pay for their online education by seeking student loans. Money borrowed under student loan programs must be repaid to the institution with or without interest depending on the type of loan. Student loans are available to online students in the form of private and government funded loans. Of course, Government funded loans will have much better interest rates and payment packages that private loans. Therefore, students are always advised to exhaust these avenues before seeking private funding.
• Scholarships: Online students can also gain their college education through various scholarship programs . These may be funded by the government, private entities or the school. Scholarships vary from full scholarships, where all your college expenses are paid or part scholarships that only foot a part of the bill. Most institutions will have information about scholarship programs on their website.

Online education financing is one of the hurdles online student must overcome in order to successfully complete their online education. There are many avenues that students may take in order to have sufficient funds. These include student loans, grants and scholarships. However, the most attractive of them all is gaining your online education financial support is through an online education scholarship.

There are many benefits associated with an online education scholarship. Depending on the source of the scholarship, students can gain immediate employment after graduation, receive preferential treatment while in school or even a stipend while studying.

What qualifies me for an Online Scholarship?

Winning you online education scholarship depends on various factors. Most suppliers of scholarship based their requirements on:

• Financial Condition: Most online students will gain an online scholarship based on their financial situation. By far, this criteria account for more than 50% of the scholarships offered. Students must produce concrete evidence why they require financial support.
• Background and Accomplishments: Online students with a good track record of accomplishments will be at the forefront of those offered online scholarships. Everyone likes to associate themselves with those who are successful. As a result, many organizations will line up to offer a scholarship for you to complete your education.
• Aspirations: Many suppliers of online scholarships are looking for individuals who have high aspirations. They like forward thinking individuals who are willing to make the sacrifice required to be a successful online student.

How to win an Online Scholarship?

Winning an online scholarship takes some perseverance and a stroke of luck. However, there are some steps that must be taken before you can be in the loop to be considered for an online scholarship. These include:

• Conducting a scholarship search: There are millions of dollars’ worth of scholarships that go unclaimed each year. By conducting a simple scholarship search online, students can gain information on means of contacting some of the many sponsors of scholarships.
• Prepare a sound application: Students must be able to convince their sponsor that they are in need of a scholarship. Therefore, student must present a professional application that includes truthful information, the current qualification and why they need a scholarship?
• Make sure you qualify: Sponsors offer scholarships for various reasons. Each will stipulate their own criteria. Before applying for any particular scholarship, always ensure that you meet their requirements. This will prevent you from having one less disappointment or raising false hope.
• Associate yourself with influential people: Many students gain scholarship by association. Being close to your school coach, student leadership body or career advisor goes a far way in getting your name to the top of the scholarship selection pile.
• Scholarship contest: Although this is a long shot, many students are known to have benefited from scholarship competitions. Students are usually asked to write an essay about a particular topic that they then can submit to a competitions committee. The winner of the competition is then awarded a scholarship for their efforts.

Many individuals had a notion that once you become a stay home your educational life is over and you are just confined to pots, pans and looking after the kids. However, access to the internet has opened up a new frontier for stay at home moms and their educational aspirations. With this access, stay home moms are able to educate themselves and take advantage of the growing outsource job market.

How Stay at Home Moms Education Works

Stay home moms now do not have to worry about with whom they will leave their kids in order to get their college education. Online degrees bring the ease for stay at home moms to bring their college education right into their living rooms. Via the internet, stay-home moms can easily enroll, make tuition payments and access a high quality online education in any subject area in which they have an interest. Online courses are especially designed for stay-home mom in mind by breaking them into manageable sizes that allows them to go smoothly through the course and still have enough time to spend with their kids. The length of each course will depend on the type and level of studies pursued. All instructors utilized by these online colleges are trained in the art of online education delivery that ensures stay-home moms get the most out of their online degree program.

Benefits of Stay at Home Moms Degrees

There are many benefits to a stay at home moms gaining a college degree. These include:

• A stay at mom can significantly raise her confidence level by knowing that she has a college education.
• By getting a college degree, stay at home moms significantly increased their chances in job market. Having a stay-home job can be used to increase the income level of the household.
• Stay at home moms can get an accredited online college degree that has the same weight as if they attended a traditional institution without ever setting their foot on campus.
• Stay at home moms also get college education at a significantly reduced cost, as the need to find money for commute and other on-campus college expenses are totally eliminated.

Financial Educational Aid for Stay at home moms

Under a Federal Scholarship Program initiated by the Obama administration, stay at home moms can now access scholarships in order to gain a college degree. Under the program, moms must first apply to the online college of their choice to investigate if they qualify for a particular course. They must however remember that there are millions of other moms applying so they should not despair if they are turned down in their first attempt. It is also important to fill out the applications correctly with information that is true, as all applications must be verified before approval. Once approved, the stay at home mom will be contacted by the college. The good thing about this program is that these stay-home moms are not burdened with the weight of repaying student loans as these scholarship programs are a part of a national empowerment program.

There are also various scholarships offered by private institutions as a part their give back to the society.

College students are faced with the task of figuring out how to pay for their educational expenses. There are a number of different programs that help students pay their way through college using loans, grants, work study programs and scholarships as well. Trying to locate those financial resources can occasionally lead students down the path of applying for just about any type of scholarship to help support their educational endeavors. Many colleges and universities offer scholarships funded by donors, alumni and outside sources for students. Some of the scholarships may have familiar names, while others are just strange.

Ten strange scholarships that online students may not have heard of but may be interested in are listed below. Who knows what talents some online students may have to help them qualify for these strange but financially beneficial scholarships?

• Left Hand Scholarship – if you are left handed and intend to become a student at Juniata College in Huntingdon, you may well qualify for the Left Handed Student Scholarship.
• Small People Scholarship – For students who are less than 4 ft. 10 inches and have the condition of dwarfism, they may qualify for around $1,000 scholarship to help with college expenses. Students must provide a medical certificate for proof.
• Tall People – Men who are over 6 ft 2 inches and women who are over 5 ft 10 inches may qualify for a scholarship through the Tall Clubs International Student Scholarship.
• Star Trek Lovers – For being a “Trekkie” (the name for those who are Star Trek Fans), the Starfleet Academy from the International Star Trek Fan Association offers a scholarship to students who have been members of Starfleet for one year.
• Skate Boarding Students – If you are a high school senior and a skate boarder with a GPA of 2.5 or above, there is scholarship money available from the Patrick Kerr Skateboard Scholarship. Scholarships can range from around $1,000 to $5,000.
• Wild Fashion – For students who are not afraid of weird fashion and can use their creativity to make and wear a prom outfit of duct tape can qualify for one of two scholarships offered to high school students who attend their prom in the outfit. The scholarship is provided by Duck Brand Duct Tape.
• Tea Drinking Scholarship – A competition called the “Calm-a-Sutra contest” sponsored by the Tea Association offers a scholarship to the winning students who make online videos endorsing different teas.
• Greeting Card Scholarship – For students who are able to design a creative greeting card, the Gallery Collection Fund will award a scholarship to a student chosen for the best card.
• Duck Calling Scholarship – For students who can do a great duck call, the Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Scholarship may be just the call. The competition is held in Stuttgart, Arkansas and the prize is around $1,500 for college.
• Bagpipes Musical Scholarship – Carnegie Mellon University offers an award scholarship of around $7,000 to only one applicant per year to study the bagpipe.
• Don’t Eat Meat/Eat Meat – There are two different scholarships offered to students to help with college expenses based on their eating habits. The Vegetarian Resource Group offers a scholarship for college for high school seniors responsible for promoting vegetarianism in their home community. The National Beef Ambassador Program sponsored by the American National Cattle Women gives scholarships to students who promote the consumption of beef. Eating meat as well as being a vegetarian can help you to pay for your college expenses.

Friends, do you know of any other scholarships for Online Students? Share your list with us in our comments section. I am sure there must be lots of good scholarships available for online students, and some that are even more amusing.